"I just love her..."

There are a few things that Xander just LOVES!!

He loves his family:

(especially his daddy and little brother)

He loves the color green, the outdoors, and anything involving dogs or trains. He loves singing, dancing, and listening to music.

He loves reading books:


He loves playing with family and friends:


And he LOVES desserts, candy, and anything sweet:


The person he's sweetest on lately.....

"my teacher Sister Walker".

This is Lindsey Walker:

She was Xander's teacher when he was in Sunbeams and he just adores her to pieces. Anytime he sees her, whether in person or in photos, it's "Oh... that my teacher! I just love her!" When she gave a talk in church he was up on his feet waving frantically at her saying "That my teacher! That my teacher!" Infact, the first few weeks of not being in her class anymore were a little traumatic for him. Let's just say that many tears were shed, and during Sharing Time her lap was occupied.
I must say that I can't blame him. She is an amazing teacher who loves the kids she teaches and finds unique and fun ways to enhance the lessons she shares with them.

For example... take these cute little sandals she made for the kids:

Xander thought they were "the coolest" and wore them everyday for weeks (up until daddy bought him new sketchers with lights).

Then there was the time they were talking about creation and animals and Xander got his very own 'Grow a lion':

He loved watching it grow bigger and bigger in water and played with it until it began to look as though it had mange and had pieces falling off. (*I gave it a quiet and loving burial*)

You may think that I might be jealous of Xander loving another woman almost as much as he loves me (I choose to believe I'm still number one), but infact... I'm just honored that he was lucky enough to have her as a teacher for as long as he did.
Coming from a home that was, and is, blessed with one of the world's BEST teachers (my mother's students can attest to that) it's very easy for me to spot out one of the good ones when I see them.
And Lindsey... you're definitely one of the good ones!
WE LOVE YOU SISTER WALKER!!!
Thanks for being so wonderful to our little Xander, and for blessing his life!

Rollercoaster ride

So lately I feel as though I'm riding a roller coaster. Maybe it has something to do with the crazy surge of hormones that keep me soaring up and down, up and down..... but never the less, I'm starting to feel a little woosy.
Even when the day seems to drag on and I seem to get absolutely nothing done, by the end of the day I am exhausted. However, when bed time finally arrives.... my body suddenly wakes with energy and is itching to move.
IT'S SO ANNOYING.
The worst part is that poor Zach is going through the same thing. We get into bed, I talk until he gets drowsy, then as soon as he's comfy... his body keeps him awake for most of the night. Either his body is having pregnancy sympathy, or all of our bodies haven't yet adjusted to Daylight Savings Time yet. Seriously, even the boys bodies and sleep patterns are a little out of whack. It doesn't help that I think Blayne is going through a growth spurt and consistantly wakes up at odd times throughout the night, then comes barging into our bedroom early in the morning yelling "Morning Mommy! Morning Daddy! Time to wake up!" Poor Zach and I just lay there as long as humanly possible trying to convince ourselves to make our muscles work and function.
Whatever the reason for our recent insomnia I hope it ends soon. This little bear is getting ornery and needs some hybernation time!! RAAAR!!!!

Still receiving blessings....

When I received my mission call to serve in Novosibirsk, Russia (Siberia). I knew that if I served faithfully and wholeheartedly I would be blessed.

I knew I would be blessed physically, that I would be healthy, strong and protected.
I knew I would be blessed mentally, that I would be clear headed and able to make good decisions.
Most importantly I knew I would be blessed spiritually that I would be able to share the beauty and goodness of the Gospel with those truly searching for the truth. This blessing was very evident in the beginning of my mission when, through the blessings of the Spirit, investigators were able to understand what I was communicating even in my horribly broken Russian.

The one blessing I didn't anticipate however was...
the blessing of true friendship.

I was so blessed to be able to form friendships with some of the most amazing people I have ever met, and even more blessed that those friendships have continued to this day even though time and distance have come between them.

The last few weeks have been difficult and frustrating and events that occurred yesterday were starting to make things seem even worse. Frustrated, tired, and ready to just crawl up into a ball and begin blubbering like a baby... I suddenly heard my phone ring.

On the other line was the beautiful, talented, amazing, fantastically wonderful....

JESSICA FILLMORE!!!



She had simply called to inform me that she had found Dunkaroos at her neighborhood Walmart and wanted to give me the heads up for Zach's sake. (*She had remembered from a post about a year ago that he loves them, and bought a box full on line in order to get them.*) She even offered to buy and ship some if our Walmart wasn't blessed with Dunkaroo goodness.

We laughed, we chatted about pregnancy and some other insignificant things, and for the short amount of time spent on the phone with my friend, things felt good again.

Thank you Jessica for making me smile, and for being a true blessing in my life. Love you with all my heart!!

P.S. To all my other friends out there... I love you too!!!! You guys are the BEST!!!

POBEDA!!!!

(*For those wondering... it's Russian for Victory*)

It finally happened!!! I could hardly believe it myself... but there it was, happening right before my eyes and with Xander as my witness. With an 0 for 387 batting score I was about to raise the white flag (especially when Zach was successful on his first try), when suddenly the heaven's parted and a miracle occurred.


BLAYNE WENT PEE PEE ON THE POTTY!!!!
*insert Hallelujah chorus*



Yes, my little nugget #2 finally went #1 on the toilet!
We were getting ready for a bath when suddenly in front of me I heard a slight tinkle sound hitting the carpet. It was only a second or two long but in those two seconds my heart sank in defeat. Would my child really be in diapers forever?!? As I began cleaning it up I looked at my naked little nugget and simply said "Blayne, the next time you feel you need to go pee pee please go to the bathroom and go pee pee on the potty." I got the normal "Okay mommy." and off he went to join Xander in the tub. Suddenly cheering and clapping came from the direction of the bathroom.
"Way to go Blayne!! You can do it!!"
I rushed in to find my little Blayne on the toilet going pee pee, and Xander being the ULTIMATE cheering section! I guess when you repeat something two hundred and twenty four thousand times, one of those times your child might actually listen!!
All I can say is....

POBEDA!!!!

Our hero...

When I was pregnant with Xander everyone told me...

"Oh, a boy! You're so lucky, boys LOVE their moms. Little girls love their dads but nothing compares to the love of a little boy for his mom."
I was so excited, and then quickly realized that the people who told me this were liars. Don't get me wrong, Xander loves me but when it comes to favorites... Zach is it. Xander adores his daddy and wants to be with him as much as possible and just like him in every way.



I'll be honest, there were some times when my feelings were hurt and I was a little jealous, but then I realized who better to idolize and have as a best friend than your dad?

Then came Blayne...
In the beginning it looked like I might actually lay claim to being the "favorite" with him, but as time has gone by it has shown that daddy is the true winner.



Blayne not only adores his daddy like his brother but also seems to respond more easily to daddy's instructions than to mommy's. Case in point...
A few days ago the boys wanted to watch a movie but they had made a large mess in the living room with their toys. I told them "If you would like the privilege of a movie, you need to clean up your mess first." They are usually quite good and don't complain about cleaning up but for some reason Blayne began whining and telling me "No Mommy!! No clean up!" I turned to him and as calmly as I could said "Blayne, you know the rule. If you make a mess, you clean it up. If you don't clean up your mess you will not get to watch the movie." He then turned to me and said:
"I ask Daddy."
To my surprise, he did just that. He walked up to Zach and said "Daddy, mommy say clean up. No clean up." To which Zach responded "Blayne, if mommy asks you to do something you need to do it. You made that mess, and now you need to clean it up." The response he received was "Okay daddy."
WHAT?!? No fussing, no whining, no temper tantrum, just a simple "Okay daddy."? My jaw may have hit the floor with an accompanying eye roll, but I was grateful for his amazing power over the kiddos.
Then last night something miraculous happened and Daddy became, not only my favorite, but my HERO.
For the last 7 months I have been trying to potty train Blayne and he is having none of it. Even my mentioning the word toilet began cries of "No, no toilet! Need diapers!" And the new little training toilet held no appeal. So basically I was resolved that I was going to have two in diapers. Last night as we were sitting around Blayne came and climbed up on the couch next to Zach and I, suddenly... there was a smell.
Just as I was trying to maneuver myself off of the couch Zach said to Blayne "Blayne, when you feel like you need to go potty you need to go to your little toilet, take your pants off, and go potty on your toilet." He got the same response that I always get when I give this same instruction, a quick and non-excited "Okay daddy." He then got off the couch and began walking towards his room, and I followed. As I turned the corner I got quite the surprise....
there was Blayne in the bathroom, pants off, and sitting on the little toilet. I was floored! I quickly walked over to him, praised him for doing exactly what daddy had said and suggested we take his diaper off. He gave me a 'whatever lady' look, and then daddy came and suggested the same thing to which he said "Okay daddy!" To the surprise of both of us he hadn't pooped yet and sat and did his deed on the toilet!!!! After 7 long months my child had finally done his business on the toilet!!! I was more than thrilled I was beyond ecstatic!!! (That was, until I realized that I was going to have to clean up this fun mess *insert dry heaving here*.) All it took was one talk from daddy.


Yep, our daddy is that amazing! Thanks Zach, and good luck with the potty training thing, I hereby relinquish the glorious duty to you.

Snowpocalypse

So lately here in Arkansas the weather has been a little finicky. It is having a hard time deciding what season it wants to be in and is causing some people to.... well, to put it honestly, FREAK OUT. We had seen this type of behavior before in Oklahoma and sometimes it's justified: I.E. Crazy ice storms, and sometimes it's just people overreacting: I.E. Exactly like this:



About a month ago we got a few inches of snow and even though the boys and I were unsuccessful at making a snowman (too powdery to stick), we bundled up and still managed to have a good time. We then came inside, had some hot chocolate and bundled up in some blankets.











Then just a week later the temperatures were in the 60s, we shed our coats, and the boys and I had a picnic outside and ice cream sandwiches for dessert.






Now fast forward to this week..... welcome to our 12-15 inches of snowfall!!










The forecast for this weekend and next week....

HIGHS IN THE 60s.
We'll have to see if that really happens. Oh Mother Nature... you fickle, fickle woman you!

WE LOVE MO!!!

So I had a four day weekend to take in January. It feels like I live at work in the month of December, so I get an extended weekend off in January. Codi and I decided to go do something fun, just the four of us. St Louis, MO. it was.

It is only about 6 hours away. We had to stop in Branson to go to our favorite store. Dicks 5 and Dime.

Then we had to go to Lamberts, the home of the thrown rolls. We saw it on the food network and had to go.

Then, we made it to St Louis. Words cannot explain how much fun we had there. The Arch was fun, but the "elevator" made Xander and prego Codi a little nervous.
We then found this amazing place, called the City Museum. Xander and I both screamed like little girls when we saw this place. The outside looked like this: The outside was full of planes, buses and tubes that led from each plane and bus. Blayne and I were the only ones who were not afraid of heights, and weren't freezing. .
The inside was full of caves, tunnels, and secret hiding places. You would find one hole in the middle of the ground and you would be crawling underground and then you would pop up on the other side of the building. There was a floor that had an aquarium, a floor with a circus, and a 10 story slide. It was too cool.



We then went to a Museum.

And another museum.

St. Louis was really cool.

But the night before we were going to drive home... it began snowing. By morning it had snowed about 8 inches. We stayed in our cabins about 30 min south of St Louis and had to drive on some back roads to get to the major highways. We said a prayer before we began our drive and we were on our way. We had only been driving 45 minutes, and only traveled about 15 miles, because the roads were very windy and VERY slippery. There was a little hill and I, not thinking, applied the gas a little and we began spinning. The car became quiet and we all held on tight while we spinned, thankfully we ended in our lane, facing the right way. I am not good at driving in the snow, so I asked Codi if she wanted to drive. Since she is from Utah, and is more familiar with snow driving so she took over. Too bad this was not snow, IT WAS ICE, and two minutes later we were in the ditch, with no way out. The roads were horrible, and no matter who was driving, they would have ended up in the ditch.

But since we said a prayer that we would be safe, we were okay and Heavenly Father placed us about 40 feet from a towing shop. I walked to the place and asked if they could pull us out. The man backed his vehicle up and attached the chains to our car. He then proceeded to pull our car out, when all of a sudden his big truck started sliding backwards...towards us!!

The man began screaming, saying: "Unhook your car! Unhook your car!" So I slid under the car and unhooked the chains. The truck kept sliding and the man jumped inside the truck and slammed on the brakes and emergency brakes. It stopped about one foot from hitting our car. Thankfully he got the truck stopped or he would have knocked our car on its side and possibly dragged us down the hill.

I asked the guy to hook the car up from behind, and pull us down the mountain. He did (and only charged me $20), and we decided to find another way home. We went about a mile, while searching the GPS for an alternate route, and realized it would take us two hours out of the way. Going up that hill was our only quick way out. While stopped on the side of the road and starting to get really frustrated... along came a sand truck/snow plow out of no where and it was heading the same way we needed to go. We got right behind him and started up the hill.

Earlier, while we were being pulled out of the ditch, there were about six cars waiting to make their way up the hill and by the time we had followed the sand truck/snow plow and made it over the hill, four of those six cars were stuck in the ditch awaiting their turn with the tow truck.

We highly recommend visiting St. Louis, but not when it is snowing.

Thanks for the planning Codi, but most of all... thanks for not freaking out when we experienced the snow hill of death.